michael isakoff is nbc's national investigative correspondent. it's an election year and hearing about issues like this, oh, favoritism of this front for florida. favoritism on that front for ohio. it shouldn't come as a shock and yet, we see it play out every year. four years, excuse me. >> this is a fascinating look about how to use the levers of power of incumbency to help yourself in an election season. in june, as you mentioned, the florida tomato growers filed this petition with the commerce department to tear up a 16-year-old trade agreement with mexico. they say they're being devastateded by the import of mexican tomatoes into the united states. lower costs than florida and then, the politics gets ratcheted up. they get letters talking about the precarious situation of florida tomato growers. senator bill nelson, up for re-election, writes a letter to the commerce department. i believe time is of the essence in this matter. he says he's talking about the growing season, but you get an election season letter, time is of the essence, debbie